


Gift

by M_Alchemist



Category: Bleach
Genre: Blush - Freeform, Drabble, F/M, Filler canon, Fluff, prompt
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-04-26
Updated: 2013-04-26
Packaged: 2017-12-09 06:51:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,259
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/771287
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/M_Alchemist/pseuds/M_Alchemist
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The best gifts are usually the ones not wrapped up in pretty paper, but rather the intangible ones you receive from those close to you. The gifts that fill you with warmth and happiness.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Gift

A wisp of winter wind blew about her.

It fiddled with her coal black hair and kissed her cheeks, leaving light pink stains in its wake. Though the cold air stung against her skin and sent shivers down her spine, she couldn't help but feel fond of it. It filled her chest with a mix of hope and glee.

This air that swirled around her, carrying small snow flakes to and fro, was familiar, and though cold to the touch, it was full of emotions that she couldn't quite fathom yet.

Yes, this wind was just like its young master. Cold in disposition, but passionate at heart.

Immediately a small smile set upon her lips as she finally turned around to face him.

A content quirk of his lips greeted her as well as those familiar turquoise eyes of his. "Karin."

Seeing him made her chest fill with warmth despite all of the snow around them, and it showed across her cheeks. "Hey, Toushirou," she replied back. "I knew you'd come."

"I don't break promises," he answered as if it was a world known fact that the captain of the tenth was incapable of such things.

His response earned a laugh from her, much to his chagrin. "Yeah, yeah, whatever. So, where's my gift?" she asked in a serious tone.

His white brows furrowed in confusion as he repeated the last word, "Gift?"

"Yeah.  _Gift_ ," she said, stressing the word.

He ran a hand through his snow colored hair once, a clear sign of distress. "… _gift_ …?"

"So you're telling me you came all the way here to visit me on my birthday,  _without_  a gift?" she asked with arms crossed over her chest. Though she could care less about receiving a gift, Karin was curious to see how the young captain would react in this kind of situation.

In all honesty, she already knew. The captain's temper was very predictable.

"You didn't ask for a gift!" the captain refuted pointlessly with a small pout.

"I didn't think I needed to! It's my birthday! It's  _implied!_ " the halfling argued back with ease.

He grunted in frustration before admitting defeat. "Well, I don't have one, all right?" he said with sagging shoulders. "Sorry."

Immediately a grin settled onto her lips. "It's okay, I didn't want anything anyway," she stated with a shrug.

His defeated look was wiped clean and replaced with a dark scowl that didn't have any effect on the young girl. "Then why were you getting so worked up about it?" he asked, the contained frustration evident in his voice.

She went straight to the point. "You're just so much fun when you're stressed out and angry. And that's most of the time."

"Karin…" he growled.

"Oh c'mon, _taichou,_  calm down." She smirked at the use of his title and earned a eye roll from him. Still, she continued on, "I knew you'd forget to bring a gift, so I wasn't expecting one."

He looked away as he spoke, "How could you be so sure I was going to forget?"

"I just know you," she answered simply and stared back at him with ease. His scowl was back in place, but she noticed there was a different light in his eyes now and she wondered what it was. "What are you thinking, eh?"

He didn't answer, instead he crossed the distance between them and crushed her into his chest in a less than graceful embrace. "Here's your gift, all right? Now you can't say that I forgot," he whispered quickly, in an uncharacteristically timid and hesitant voice. "...Happy birthday, Karin."

"Uh... thanks, Toushirou," she replied awkwardly as she wrapped her arms around his middle. Even while being held by the icy captain, Karin still felt herself burn from the inside out. She was sure the rosy marks on her face wouldn't disappear until the following week. If she was lucky.

Though she realized this was probably the closest she had ever been to Toushirou—or hell, an actual  _boy—_ she found that a small part of her actually liked the intimacy of such a simple gesture. Of course, she would never admit it to anybody, especially the young _shinigami_  or her twin. Not knowing if Toushirou would ever allow such events to happen again, she secretly cherished the moment and hid it under all of the embarrassment and surprise she felt.

To Karin the moment felt a heartbeat too long, but she couldn't bring herself to pull away. And she thought he shared her feelings. She decided to break the slightly awkward silence with her characteristical chuckle before looking back at his face. "Who knew you could be so nice?" she commented with a smile.

Toushirou averted her gaze, seemingly embarassed, but didn't let her go. "Shut up," he replied quickly and quietly.

Karin could see it on his face too. She knew the pink stains on his cheeks were definitely not from the cold. The halfling smirked as she finally separated from him and ruffled his hair briefly as she asked, "Well, are we gonna go play or not?"

He slapped her hand away gently, just as he always did. "That depends, are you going to stop doing that every time you see me?" he questioned, referring to her constantly messing up his hair.

"You can't set up conditions or rules during my birthday," she argued with a roll of her eyes and a poke on his chest. "So are you gonna play or not?"

He frowned, but only took a deep, calming breath. "You can't play soccer in the snow," he replied, matter-of-factly.

"How can you be so sure?"

"I just know."

"Well then, allow me prove you wrong," she smirked. "Just gimme a minute while I go get my soccer ball."

"Suit yourself," he replied in a bored tone, but he let the barest of smiles show.

After seeing that she left for home, ready to return and prove her friend wrong in any way possible. But as she ran inside, she finally took notice of her racing heart and the heat still on her cheeks, things she had been ignoring before but now felt all too evident. Especially after his last smile, something small and simple and barely noticible, but completely real. She took a deep, settling breath to steady herself before picking up the round black and white object and heading towards the door. She hesitated the slightest bit before opening the door and heading outside, but she could feel his aura of impatience beginning to spread and decided to swallow whatever feelings she was having and head out.

"Hurry up," he called out as she closed the door.

"I'm going!"

Her feelings could wait to be decifered. For now, spending time with a friend that she rarely saw was more important. That's why she'd asked him to come on this day, because she knew he would do his best to give her this one day, even if he couldn't give her any others. It was her birthday, and though he'd lived many of her lifetimes, she knew that he knew that the least he could do was visit her. And Karin was grateful for that gift. The gift of his presence. That was already enough for her to be happy on her birthday.

Of course, she would go on to receive many other gifts from many other people, but none of them could ever compare. Her favorite gift would always be the one the young captain gave her on that cold snowy day.

**Author's Note:**

> Written for the first Hitsukarin week ever just a couple weeks ago. The prompt of the day was 'Blush'. I originally wrote it up on Tumblr, but after putting it here, there has been changes and thus, a new version has been made.


End file.
